Odysseus As Codifier for the Tricksy, Plucky Hero, And Other Influences In The Odyssey

    The entirety of The Odyssey is Odysseus utilizing his wits and will to succeed for the vast majority of the story, utilizing force only when absolutely necessary. Ever since I read The Odyssey, I've noticed its influence in a lot of adventure stories. Prior to The Odyssey, most protagonist characters in stories, legends, tales, or myths, characters won through a lot of brute strength. Hercules is one of the few characters from before The Odyssey who displays this kind of intelligence and uses it, and yet that only happens rarely in the tales of his adventures. To my knowledge, Odysseus codified the usage of intelligence as a heroic trait. This trait trickled down into a number of literary heroes, influencing everything from Robin Hood, to Bilbo Baggins, to Batman takes on aspects of Odysseus, and their stories tend to take on aspects of The Odyssey as well. The Hobbit is very much an odyssey, and Bilbo uses his wits to outsmart any number of foes and adversaries much in the same way Odysseus does. Robin Hood doesn't go on any journies, but his intelligence is equally as important to his survival and adventures as his fighting prowess and marksmanship, as is the intelligence of the rest of the Merry Men.
    Prior to The Odyssey, intelligence was seen as a nice trait to have, but not as one of the primary defining traits of a hero. There's also the fact that familial loyalty is a fairly massive theme in The Odyssey, and that concept is seen throughout loads of fiction. Taken, Homeward Bound, Ni No Kuni, Nier, loads of stories are about overcoming obstacles to reunite with one's family or to stay together with one's family. The influence of The Odyssey is ubiquitous.